Queering Asylum in Europe: Legal and Social Experiences of Seeking International Protection on grounds of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Carmelo Danisi, Moira Dustin, Nuno Ferreira, Nina Held

Springer Nature, Aug 31, 2021 - Social Science - 487 pages

This two-volume open-access book offers a theoretically and empirically-grounded portrayal of the experiences of people claiming international protection in Europe on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity (SOGI). It shows how European asylum systems might and should treat asylum claims based on people’s SOGI in a fairer, more humane way. Through a combined comparative, interdisciplinary (socio-legal), human rights, feminist, queer and intersectional approach, this book examines not only the legal experiences of people claiming asylum on grounds of their SOGI, but also their social experiences outside the asylum decision-making framework. The authors analyse how SOGI-related claims are adjudicated in different European frameworks (European Union, Council of Europe, Germany, Italy and UK) and offer detailed recommendations to adequately address the intersectional experiences of individuals seeking asylum. This unique approach ensures that the book is of interest not only to researchers in migration and refugee studies, law and wider academic communities, but also to policy makers and practitioners in the field of SOGI asylum.

Contents

• Part I Contextualising SOGI Asylum Research: 2
• Chapter 1 Why Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Asylum?: 3
• Chapter 2 Researching SOGI Asylum: 23
• Chapter 3 A Theoretical Framework A Human Rights Reading of SOGI Asylum Based on Feminist and Queer Studies: 50
• Part II The Legal and Social Experiences of SOGI Asylum Claimants and Refugees: 94
• Chapter 4 The Policy and Guidance: 95
• Chapter 5 Life in the Countries of Origin Departure and Travel Towards Europe: 139
• Chapter 6 The DecisionMaking Procedure: 179
• Chapter 7 The Asylum Claim Determination: 259
• Chapter 8 Housing and Accommodation: 331
• Chapter 9 Health Work and Education: 388
• Part III Forging a New Future for SOGI Asylum in Europe: 418
• Chapter 10 SOGI Asylum in Europe Emerging Patterns: 419
• Chapter 11 Believing in Something Better Our Recommendations: 445
• Index: 479

About the author

Dr Carmelo Danisi is Adjunct Professor and Research Fellow in International Law at the University of Bologna (Italy) and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Sussex (UK). After a PhD scholarship in Democracy and Human Rights (2009-2012), he joined the University of Bologna as a post-doc fellow in International and European Law (2012-2015). He was Endeavour Research Fellow at the Australian National University with a project on the principle of the best interests of the child in the context of migration (2015) and SOGICA Research Fellow at the University of Sussex (2016-2020). He is the author of a number of publications in the field of international human rights law, especially in relation to non-discrimination and migration in the framework of the ECHR and the EU.

Dr Moira Dustin is a Lecturer in the School of Law, Politics and Sociology, where she also leads on Knowledge Exchange and Engagement for the School. She joined the University of Sussex as a Research Fellow in 2016 working on the European Research Council project SOGICA - Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Claims of Asylum: A European human rights challenge (2016-2020). Moira has a PhD in Gender Studies from the London School of Economics where she is a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE). Before joining the University of Sussex, she was Director of Research and Communications at the Equality and Diversity Forum, a network of equality and human rights organisations, where she coordinated the Equality and Diversity Research Network. Moira has also worked at the Refugee Council, providing advice and information and developing national services for refugees and asylum-seekers. She has worked as a freelance sub-editor on the Guardian and Independent newspapers and was the Information Worker for the Carnegie Inquiry into the Third Age.

Professor Nuno Ferreira is a Professor of Law at the University of Sussex. Previously, he was a Senior Lecturer at the University of Liverpool (2012-2016) and Lecturer at the University of Manchester (2006-2012). He has also been a Visiting Professor at Wuhan University (China) and the School of Law of the University of Lisbon (Portugal). Nuno did his undergraduate law studies at the University of Coimbra (Portugal) and University of Bologna (Italy). He worked as a legal consultant at the Legal Affairs and Litigation Department of the Portuguese Securities Market Commission and as a research fellow at the Centre of European Law and Politics at the University of Bremen.

Dr Nina Held is a Teaching Fellow in Sociology at the University of Sussex. From 2016-2020 she worked as a post-doctoral researcher on the ERC-funded project SOGICA - Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Claims of Asylum: A Human Rights Challenge. She has a PhD in Women's Studies from the Centre for Gender and Women’s Studies at Lancaster University (2011). Before joining Sussex, Nina worked as Centre Co-ordinator at Freedom from Torture and as Development Worker at Trafford Rape Crisis. For seven years, she was the chair and a volunteer for the Lesbian Immigration Support Group in Manchester.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Queering Asylum in Europe: Legal and Social Experiences of Seeking International Protection on grounds of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity; IMISCOE Research Series
• Authors: Carmelo Danisi, Moira Dustin, Nuno Ferreira, Nina Held
• Publisher: Springer Nature, 2021
• ISBN: 3030694410, 9783030694418
• Length: 487 pages
• Subjects: Law / International; Political Science / Human Rights; Political Science / Public Affairs & Administration; Political Science / Public Policy / General; Social Science / Emigration & Immigration; Social Science / Gender Studies; Social Science / Research